The use of portable lighting devices is known in the prior art. For instance, there have been a number of patents issued for lights adapted to be used inside of a women's purse. These include U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,424,926; 4,774,638 and 5,934,790. There are also patents for portable lights including U.S. Pat. No. 5,347,440, as well as patents utilizing fluorescent lighting such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,268,894 and 4,432,043.
The purse lights are not adequate for the job for which they are intended because they all use a small light bulb which simply does not provide enough light and the light is focused in one small spot where the bulb is located. The fluorescent lighting devices cannot be used for personal or purse use because they are all too large to fit in one's pocket or purse.